In memory of our very good friend, Rev. Pat Evans

WHO DO WE TRUST

April 24, Tolland, CT--- How many of us trust our spotters during the middle of a race? This is Rev. Dan, giving Rev. Don a much needed break this week. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Spotters, they see things that the drivers cannot see. They usually sit high above the racetrack and can see a lot more of what is going on during the race. They tell us to go high or go low. There is trouble in turn 3; slow down. Car 5 is on the outside; keep your line. All clear, give it all you got. These are some of the ways that the spotters can help the drivers stay out of trouble and win the race. Spotters see things that we don't see, and we have to put our full faith and trust in him or her.

Isaiah 55:9 says "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

The same trusting attitude we have with our spotters, we need to have with God. He will be the best guide for our lives. He wants to teach us and direct us in the right way, but we need to trust him and put our full faith in him. We have to know that his direction is better than what we can see. The real test is that we have to listen and obey. He knows best and he knows the paths we take. If we take God's path, it will lead to blessings. We can't see what is ahead, but God does. If we take our own path, it will lead to trouble. When we try to handle our own situation and try our own way, we don't see things that God does and it leads to our downfalls. Many may ask why should we put our trust in God - the answer is because he is the one who guides us. He is the one who knows all. He is the one who knows our future. Our part is trusting, his part is guiding. Let me use this illustration from a story I read recently.

A man was out jogging one day. As he passed a cliff, he got too close and fell. Grabbing hold of a branch he was stranded. No way up and certainly no way down. He began to scream, "Help, help, is there anyone up there who can hear me?" He yelled for hours and was about to give up when he heard a voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Yes, I can hear you.”

“I'm down here."

"I can see you, are you alright?"

"Yes, but ...who are you and where are you?"

"I am the Lord, and I am everywhere."

"The Lord? You mean God?"

"That's me."

"God, help me, I promise that if you get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person and serve you for the rest of my life."

"Easy on the promises. First let's get you down, then we can discuss those."

"I'll do anything, Lord, just tell me what to do, okay?"

"Okay, just let go of the branch."

"What?"

"I said, let go of the branch, just trust me, let go." Then there is a pause.

"Help, help, is there anybody else up there?" This jogger didn't put his whole trust in God.

/Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

Here are three ways that will help us trust God more.

1 - We need to be confident in God's care. It says to trust him with all of your heart - with everything you have. We all love racing and are very passionate about it. We are all dedicated to the sport no matter what. We all make sacrifices to be at the track - with our families and our work. All of our feelings and emotions are poured into it. Love God like this, and trust him with the same passion that you have for racing.

2 - We need to be committed to God's purpose. We need to look for God's guidance with everything, small and big. In the verse above it says to seek his will in all you do and he will direct our paths. Does that mean in racing also? Yes, in racing, in finances, in relationships etc. Trust him, he will guide you through.

3- We need to be controlled by God's will. Did you ever see that bumper sticker "God is my co-pilot". We need to change that and make it read, "God is my pilot." We need to let go of our own will and let God's will take control. When we do that, God will open and close the doors for you that he deems best.

If we do these things, we are putting our complete trust in God, and things will turn out much better than if we decided to do things ourselves. Give it a try and see what happens.

God bless each of you and have a great week! Keep your trust in him.
Rev. Dan

THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD

RACE ONE IS IN THE BOOKS. It took us a little over a week to get it in but what a glorious day we had to race! The weather was Whelen weather, the finish was close and the drivers involved were the new generation. James Civali fought off the hard charging Chuck Hossfeld to win. Much like his first win, James did everything in his power to keep Chuck behind him. Likewise, Chuck did everything in his power to get by James. One thing that didn’t happen was a wreck. Yes, they touched and swapped lines but they showed a respect for each other and refused to settle the race by one car ending up in a heap. Great racing on a great spring day.

NASCAR had their priorities right on this race weekend. Every NASCAR racecar carried a VT sticker as a remembrance of the victims that lost their lives this past week. We cannot understand the grief of those parents and friends who lost loves ones. We do not know how long it will take for the fear to be displaced. We do not know when, if ever, the campus will return to the place it was before. We can reach out with encouragement and prayers for those involved.

For those who are not sure where VT is, if you ever raced at Motor Mile Speedway you were within a few mile of campus. We are not exempt from such a tragedy touching our own lives. Continue to lift everyone up in your prayers.

We were invited to participate in a test safety program being rolled out this year at Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson International Speedway this year by Fast Track Medical Response Systems, LLC. They are recording your medical information on a microchip that is worn in a flexible rubber bracelet. Medical personnel can scan the chip when you are involved in an incident and they will have your medical information readily available. This will cut out any guesswork or questions that arise when they are treating people. We are going to participate and we’ll let you know how the program works out at the end of the season.

This week find us doing split duty again. Rev. Dan will be flying down to South Carolina for the Busch East Series race at Greenville-Pickens next Saturday night. I will be at Stafford Motor Speedway for the Greatest Race of Spring, the Spring Sizzler. Pray for us as we travel and if you can we could always use a hand. Have a great week.

Be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals and apparel. See them at the Online Apparel Store at www.RWJM.org. Call us with your prayer and counseling needs and list all your prayer needs, no matter what part of our racing family you are in, with the Racing Family Prayer Request Page www.rwjm.org/page/prayers.php also send your prayer request by mail. Until next time, remember that God loves you, we love you and *Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing. GOD BLESS.*

Mail reaches us at Racing with Jesus Ministries, PO Box 586, Tolland, CT 06084. Check our weekly printed pages in "Area Auto Racing News", the East Coast’s largest weekly racing paper" See our on-line Apparel Store for subscription information. Check our home page www.rwjm.org past articles. We invite you to input your thoughts as you sign our Guest Book. Please remember, we can only do what we do because of your prayerful financial support.

*/Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."/*

*/May God always Bless you, everyday in everyway. Rev. Don/*

*CHECKERED CHEERS*

***WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES***

April 26

MIKE AND SHARON TALLMAN- A crewman on the Thompson Speedway Modified driven by Sharon's brother Tom Tagg and his wife have anniversary 21.

April 27

GEORGE AND BEVERLY BOULEY- The family that races together stays together. This family that includes children Kim and BES driver Scott and the entire #26 team started at Danbury Arena and have become a common sight at tracks throughout the East. They always have a smile and a laugh despite what the circumstances may be. Let us wish them a blessed anniversary as they complete 52 laps in the family camper.

May 1

BILL & KATHY COTROFELD- The couple who haul and display the Featherlite Show Trailer have their 31st.

RON & SUE CORNELL- AARN and Maine based "Racin' Paper" columnists from Westport, MA have their 30th anniversary.

***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***

April 25

BILL HENDERSON- Owner of a KARS Sprint team at Williams Grove.

MIKE LENMAN- Driver of Bill Henderson's KARS Sprint.

RAY MILLER- Former driver of the Henderson KARS Sprint.

JOHN MICHALOWSKI, JR.- From Riverhead, NY, now driving LMSC in NC.

CHET THOMPSON- Former Wall Township Speedway driver, now G.S.U.S.C.E.
member and race fan.

SHAWN PODZIEWSKI- BNS crewman.

CHRISTINA CASAGRANDE- Sister of Riverhead Blunderbust driver Bob.

AARON MICHAEL COX- One of Rev. Pat's cousin Bob and wife Tracy Cox'
children down in Boyertown, PA is 7.

BILL DIMMICH- Slatington, PA Former Pocono 500 chief announcer and TV host.

April 26

JIMMY KITCHENS- Birmingham, AL BGN/NW driver.

JUNIOR MILLER- Winston-Salem, NC WSMT 2005 Chmpionship driver.

RON SHEPHERD- From NY, now in NC driving Modifieds and Concord Motorsports Park Super LMSC.

ROGER GODIN- Maine LM driver.

ALLEN MONETTE- NH ProStock driver.

RON & ED PROVOST- Oxford Plains Speedway official and son.

April 27

BOBBY SUMMERS- The owner of Hossier Tire East in Manchester, CT and provider of the racing rubber for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and proud dad of WMT driver Rob.

RICK KNAPP- Scotland, CT retired Waterford Speedbowl Modified driver.

JIM PETERSON- CT LM driver.

AUSTIN DILLON- A son of BGN driver/spotter Mike and Tina.

April 28

KIRK BRYANT- Thomasville, NC LMSC driver.

MARK GEER- Waterford Speedbowl former Chief Tech. Inspector.

JUDY MARTIN- Concord, NC NNC photographer.

NATHAN DIAS- Son of Westport, MA Seekonk ProStock driver Tony and wife Elizabeth is 11.

April 29

CHAD LITTLE- Spokane, WA lawyer/former Cup driver/Speed channel commentator.

JIM LOWREY, JR.- NH SuperModified driver.

DAVE FAIR- Oaks, CA SCCA driver.

BRUCE THOMPSON- Newtown, PA Len's dad.

MARK MOCKOVAC- Husband of Claremont Speedway Modified driver Audrey Stevens and the Media Coordinator for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour from Danbury, CT

BOB MORRIS- Auburn, ME racing columnist.

JOHN SZERENCITS III- Whitehall, PA brother of AARN subscription sales rep. Don.

LINDA & NICOLE BRUNO- The wife and daughter of Jim, from Absecon, NJ both celebrate today.

DAVE JONES- Driver of the #76 sprint car at Lernerville and other West Pennsylvania tracks and a member of the "old guy race team".

April 30

MICHAEL WALTRIP- NAPA's NNC driver/team owner for Toyota's entry into cup racing.

ANDY HILLENBURG- Indianapolis, IN BGN/ARCA/Sprint driver.

JASON MANAFORT- Plainville, CT former NASCAR BES driver.

FRANK KIMMEL- Clarksville, IN ARCA Series driver.

JEFF KAUFMAN- Red Bank, NJ Modified owner/driver.

CHRIS GRADY- Son of Lebanon Valley Speedway photographer John.

JACKIE HENDRICKSON- Wife of Lawrenceville, NJ Modified driver Wade.

DAN SERRANO- The grandson of Rusty Farrar, who is also the mother of Kathy Van Norde, wife of Wall Truck Division driver Bruce, has favorite drivers we must mention including the Hoffman brothers, Blewett brothers and Darren McCaughey and a writer for www.newjerseydirtracing.com

May 1

JOHNNY SAUTER- NASCAR Nextel Cup/ BGN driver.

*** IN THE SHOP ***

CAROL PARES – Carol, Mike’s wife received an excellent diagnosis from the doctor and things look much better than they did a few weeks ago. Continue to keep Carol in your prayers.

CLIFFORD MATTHEWS- Stepfather of Greg Godek recently underwent heart by-pass surgery. He is recovering but is in need of our prayers and encouragement, please keep him in your prayers.

LOIS MATCZAK- Wife of Skip is facing some challenging medical issues. Please keep them both in your prayers.

MARYLYN ANGELILLO- Wife of NEMA Midget car owner Gene had her surgery last week and everything went well. The doctors feel they removed everything they needed to. They still need to watch a few things. Continue to keep her in your prayers.

SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY. SEND THEM TO RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES AT PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT  06084.

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